Our Avatar Characters
by Myah
Summary: A collection of fanfiction tributes. We fanfiction writers have done a lot with the Avatar cast: here's a summary of some of them- and the ways we made fun of, insulted, injured, loved, or just kept true to the essence of each character.
1. Our Zukos

**A/N:** _Thanks for the idea of fanfiction tributes goes to three people:_** dementedchris** _and_ **aka Arashi **_here on ff, who did a few of these for the cast of Samurai X. But the original idea came from_** Punk Manueverability.** _If you ever find him, thank him for me._

_Happy, Capt? They're heere!_

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**Our Zukos**

When we first met him, we wanted to hate him. He was hunting down the last hope for peace, after all. Some of us sensed what he would become even then- but many of us had to wait for the day he sat alone in his cabin, in the midsts of a storm, remembering better days, as his Uncle told us the story he never would.

And we fell in love.

We took him in as our own. And in doing so, he showed us parts ourselves we may have forgotten. As he had forgotten his own.

As time passed, we grew to know our Zukos even better. We learnt of his bad jokes, his dreams of acceptance, his horrible taste in tea. We saw the conflict within him, and we tried to soothe him in our tales. But we always remembered he had to deal with his demons himself.

So we delved into his past. We told tales of times with and without his mother. Sometimes we took him from her instead of her from him. We gave him additional scars; we removed the brand of the betrayed. We unmasked him in front of his enemies. We forced him to kill those that shared his blood. We took away his memories. At times, we allowed him to save his world; we said farewell as he drew his final breath.

But still he returned, that slightly goofy smile in place; or maybe a frown. And we began again.

We still debate over who was the right girl for him: the one who he was comfortable with, or the one who would challenge him. We took away his crown; we gave it to the one he claimed as his true father. But he never lost what he was- not again.

Our Zukos were always the ones we loved to comfort- for he was in so much need of it. But we didn't ignore the many opportunities he gave us to laugh at him. To call him "Sparky". He recited speeches to frogs. He tried to offer advice. He lost his temper on so many occasions- oh yes, we had some fun with that. But then we saw as he remembered his past, his doubtful future, and we wept for our Prince.

He yearned for acceptance; we gave him a family. A goofy little brother. A little sister he could both advise and protect. A brother to spar with and lean on. A father to whom he could turn to for advice- and tea. And we gave him loves. A waterbending princess; a warrior; an everyday girl; a healer. To soothe the fire that we saw raging behind his amber eyes. To calm his heart. To help heal his pain. To give him the love he so deserves.

We know he isn't patient, but we put it to the test. We wrote about him shirtless. We made him run from requests to get married. We put his firstborn into his arms. We made him dance. We put him in the middle of hugs. We almost skewered him with a boomerang. We made him hide in bushes. We gave him a tail. We had him scared of a twelve year old. We tricked him into drinking love potions. We made him fail.

We watched as he breathed his last in his love's arms.

But we also gave him new techniques: to control lava. To combine his element with water to create a storm.

I am ashamed to say that we even put him in Air Nomad robes.

But I'm also proud to say that we gave him dragons; the freedom of the skies.

Our Zukos, Zuzus, Sparkies: they were everything for us. They showed us what family really meant; how far to go for acceptance. To remain true to who we are. And in return for that, we gave him what he needed.

To our Zukos, we gave love. To our beloved firebender, Fire Lord, husband or Prince, we gave peace.

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On **aka Arashi's** suggestion, here's a list of the fanfics (whose titles I remember) that I referenced here. Believe me, all of them are worth a look. Also, if you have any suggestions of fanfics for the other characters (Iroh and Sokka are up next), feel free to let me know in a review!

_On fan fiction:_

**-Stormbenders** by Fandomme

**-Another Brother**,** One** and **In His Shoes **by AvocadoLove 

**-Ember Island Truths**,** Season One Remix: Shirtless Zuko Style**,** Season Two Remix: Shirtless Zuko Style** and **Almost **by Jakia

**-Hearts of Fire** by Dracori

**-Lies** by Tuna Salad Sonnet

**-Dancing in the Dark** and **Rhythm of the Rain **by DamageCtrl

**-Guide me home** by Rashaka

**-Dangerous ground** and **Dangerous Drabbles** by wilderness-writer

**-The Road Less Travelled** by Nandireya

**-Oracle: Dum Vita est, Spes est** by Zaz9-zaa0

_On avatar spirit :_

**-Book Four: Air- A Canon Continuation Fic** by aka Arashi (Capt BoomerAang on ASN)

**-Late Night with Shredder** by Shredder

**-Change of Pace** by luckychaos

**-Style **by Loopy

**-Katara who?** by DPawsome

**-... the ones they left behind** by Liledhe

That's it... I think...


	2. Our Irohs

_**A/N: **As before, I state that the original idea for tributes belongs to **aka** **Arashi**, **dementedchris** and **Punk Manueverability**. Applying them to Avatar fanfics, however, is my baby.__  
We all love Iroh. Sadly, I haven't read that many fanfics that strongly feature him. If you have any suggestions, please let me know. I do love our "tea-loving kookiness". I would provide a list of the fanfics I referenced for this, but it would just be easier to tell you to take a look at my Favourites list and the end of Our Zukos. All of them are right there. Well, all except for one in which Iroh journeys to the spirit world to find Lu Ten. I can't locate it anywhere. Sigh._

_**:Edit: Thank you, Arashi!** The missing fanfic is AvocadoLove's **Tea with Destiny.**_

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**Our Irohs**

The first time we met him, we didn't realise that he'd slipped into our hearts. And by the time we did, it was too late to do anything about it. We would have fought him had he even tried to leave. But our lovable teamaker stayed right where he was.

He was what all of us dreamed of: an understanding heart. A gentle voice. A vast sea of wisdom to gently guide us through this difficult journey called life. For some of us he was more. And we did to him what you do to someone you truly love. You give.

We thought it cruel that his only son had been taken from him; we reunited them. We wondered about his wife; we gave him loves. We meditated on his close ties to his nephew; we made his nephew his actual son. But still he was there, the same as ever, with his Pai Sho board and his pot of tea.

What were we to do with someone who had gone through so much hardship in his life? Who was such a deep mystery to us still? So of course we created our images of his past. We gave him a Spirit journey unlike any other. We allowed him to see his deceased son. We gave him visions of a future without him to guide our Zukos. We gave him encounters with dragons.

But still, it wasn't enough. Our Royal kookiness was a Prince, after all. One whose throne had been stolen from him. So we returned it to him. We explored his transformation from guide to warrior with Buff!Irohs. We gave him an army. We gave him a cause. We told of his exploits with the White Lotus.

His son had been taken away; we gave him a brood of children to watch over, guide, advise.

We were not content to give to him the ordinary life he seemed so well suited for. So we gave him... everything. We gave and gave, and he still remained the same. A gentle, loving soul. A teamaker extraordinaire. A matchmaker. A Pai Sho master. A Grand Master. A Pimpmaster.

A Firebender.

A Prince.

A guide.

An uncle.

A father.


	3. Our Sokkas

**A/N:**_ I finished this months ago, but forgot to update my ff account with it. Don't hurt me.. ^^;_

_For a list of the fanfics used in this series, check out my deviantArt profile. I'm myah5000 over there!_

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As difficult to define as Our Irohs are, Our Sokkas are sometimes even more so. It's ironic that the character who, at the beginning, seemed to have so little purpose, has generated so much attention. But Our Sokkas don't mind- in fact, they thrive on attention.

But we have been a bit contradictory when it comes to Sokka and Our Sokkas. We accused Sokka's creators of hating him, so we proceeded to strip Our Sokkas of their dignity. We accused them of victimising him, so Our Sokkas rolled down mountainsides. Forget about Our Aangs and Our Zukos: Our Sokkas have taken more abuse than both of them combined.

But there's no one quite like Our Sokkas. After all, we've poisoned him, almost blown him up, shattered his bones, paralysed him, had him bemoan his uselessness, almost drowned him, got him drunk, had his family make fun of his height, broke him and Our Sukis up, had his sister fall in love with his enemy, hit him with a range of objects and had an equally wide range of enemies- and wild animals- chase him.

In one particularly memorable story, we even had Our Sokkas switch bodies with Our Zukos.

And in another, we almost killed him.

But still he's always there, with that particular debonair smile, Boomerang and Space Sword at his side.

We've seen him laugh, we've made him cry. We've made him proud of wearing a dress. We've made his humor evaporate as he stared at the moon. We've denied him the peace of his first love, and comforted him with a second. Some of us have even added a third. But of course, what kind of player would Our Sokkas be if he didn't have girls fighting over him?

And, of course, being one of Our Sokkas, getting hurt in the process?

Our Sokkas were never (okay, seldom) just outlets for abuse, though. We took him to a sister to heal his wounds. An earthbender to save him from fallen statues (and to crush on him). A warrior to set his broken bones. A brother to spar with and sing him to sleep (yes, I do mean _sing him to sleep_). A child for whom to be strong.

A love to kiss the pain away.

Ah, Our Sokkas are so easy to love, aren't they? With such a diverse (and charming) character, it's inevitable that he would draw Our Characters to him. So Our Sukis have fallen in love with the honourable warrior. Our Azulas have been unable to withstand his debonair charm. Our Yues have never forgotten his gentle side. Our Tophs have hidden their love of his slightly twisted sense of humor. Our Ty Lees have fallen for his good looks. Our Mais have been intrigued by his self-confidence.

Even Our Zukos want a piece of Our Sokkas. Judging from the number of times this particular pairing has been mentioned- many, many pieces.

Somehow, Our Sokkas are always travellers. We've sent them on trips to rescue a kidnapped sister. We've walked beside them as they searched for lost weapons. We sent him out on his first hunt, his father at his side. We even made him- in one fell swoop- emo, a Prince and a waterbender. I'm not too sure that he appreciated that one. But although his journeys varied, like his most trusted weapon, he always came back to us.

Even though he should have run for the hills the day we hinted that he had kissed Our Zukos.

We've explored so many different aspects of Our Sokkas: the Lover. The Warrior. The Brother. The Strategist. The Clown. The Meat/ Animal Lover. The Leader. The Friend. But to us, he'll always be a simple guy.

The simple guy who won our hearts.


End file.
